How to Sign "New" in American Sign Language

The short answer

In American Sign Language (ASL), the sign for NEW uses two hands. Hold your non-dominant hand flat with the palm facing up. Curve your dominant hand slightly, palm up. Then sweep it across the non-dominant palm in a small scooping motion so the back of your dominant hand brushes the palm and lifts slightly at the end. It looks like scooping something fresh off your palm.

This guide describes the commonly taught ASL form. No supplied evidence confirmed these details, so check the sign against a video from a reputable ASL dictionary or a Deaf ASL instructor before you rely on it.

Things that change the answer

• Which sign language you need: ASL is used mainly in the US and parts of Canada. British Sign Language, Auslan, and other national sign languages are separate languages, and their sign for "new" can differ completely.
• Regional and personal variation: Even within ASL, signers may differ slightly in how far the hand travels or how pronounced the scoop is. Local signers set the norm in your community.
• Names that contain "new": Place names such as New York have their own established signs. They are not built from the NEW sign plus another word.
• Everyday phrases: A casual greeting like "What's new?" is often expressed with a different sign or phrase, not by spelling out each English word. Ask a fluent signer how people in your area say it.

Step by step

• 1. Set your base hand. Hold your non-dominant hand (the left hand if you are right-handed) in front of your body at about waist to chest height. Keep it flat, palm up, with fingers together and pointing forward or slightly toward your dominant side.
• 2. Shape your active hand. Hold your dominant hand with the fingers together and slightly curved, palm facing up or angled toward you.
• 3. Make the scoop. Starting near the outer edge of the base palm on your dominant side, brush the back of your dominant hand across the base palm toward your non-dominant side.
• 4. Finish with a lift. Let the active hand rise slightly as it leaves the palm, so the whole movement forms a smooth, shallow arc.
• 5. Do it once. A single smooth movement is the usual citation form, which is the form a dictionary entry shows.

Common mistakes

• Tapping or slapping the palm instead of brushing across it.
• Using a stiff, completely flat active hand. A slight curve makes the scooping motion read clearly.
• Sweeping in the wrong direction. The movement travels across the base palm toward the non-dominant side.
• Signing too low or too far to the side, where the other person may not see your hands clearly.

How to check your form

Practise in front of a mirror or watch yourself in a camera's self-view. Compare what you see with a reference video. Your hands should stay in frame, the base palm should stay steady, and the active hand should travel in one smooth arc.

Be aware that mirrors, and many video-call self-view previews, show you reversed. If the reference video shows a signer facing you, copy them as if they were your reflection. Mirroring can make the direction of travel look backward, but other people on a call usually see you unreversed.

Self-checking only shows that your movement resembles the reference. It cannot confirm that you are using the right sign for your region or context, and it cannot judge the finer points of handshape. Feedback from a fluent or Deaf signer is the reliable way to confirm both.